CAMP IVRT'S FAVORITE GAMES

OUR CAMPERS FAVORITE CAMP GAMES 

Camp IVRT introduces students to the basics of acting, singing, and movement, in a creative and encouraging atmosphere. We strive to create a safe space for students to explore themselves creatively without fear of judgement. The goal is for students to come away with some of the tools needed to audition at local theaters, while developing a love of performing and a confidence in expressing themselves. 

Open Scenes

For this activity, students were given a very simple scene and were asked to work together to build their own unique backstories for the scene and their characters. Some students gave descriptions of their scenes beforehand and then together they performed for the group. It was a great way to work on a scene because they were short, which really let campers think about how they wanted to deliver lines and move around while performing. 

The Expert Game

The Expert Game is an improv game where two students act as if they are on a talk show. One student is the host of the talk show, and the other is an expert on a randomly assigned topic or object. The host asks the expert some questions, and everything the expert says is true. These scenes encouraged campers to think outside the box. Being an “expert” also gives a sense of decisiveness, which is crucial when working on acting skills. Whatever they said was factual in this game, and so by the end of a couple rounds campers were confident in their acting choices and also flexible in working with what the other actors said in scenes. 

Acting for the Camera

This exercise taught the specific techniques used when acting on camera as opposed to stage acting. Students were given short scenes and worked on their performances in pairs. This gave them the ability to use subtle reactions and inflections in their performances. Since part of camp was virtual this summer, Camp IVRT really found a way to utilize the unique camp conditions over zoom. Gaining specific skills for on camera acting was very exciting for most students, especially since they were previously familiar with stage acting. 

Commercial Game

This wacky game let our students really use their imagination. Each round students would invent a silly product and really market it to the group. Some campers came up with products like “cooking pianos”, “gaming toothbrushes” and “knitting walruses”! This exercise was a fun way to warm up creative ideas, even ones that may not make sense, and open up our minds to endless possibilities while performing. 

Although camp has come to an end this summer, we couldn’t have asked for a better couple of sessions. Camp IVRT wants to give a huge thanks to all of our teachers, TAs, parents, and students for making this summer possible!

To support programs like Camp IVRT, please consider a donation to the Duane Thomas Memorial Fund, go to ivrt.org/donate

Written by Shannen Sulpizio